Why don't the Thai authorities clean up the tap water?

[Classic Ray]

The basic difference between Thailand and the West is that nothing gets done unless there is a way to make money out of it. No one will accept raising taxes for this. The poor people drink the water from the tap. The rich people, who pay the taxes, drink bottled or filtered water and can afford to pay for it. The people who bottle the water make money out of it.

 

Doing stuff for the common good does not compute here. That's why the streets have wires hanging all over them, kids get electrocuted on hanging wires, and the pavements are obstructed and all broken up while the roads are comparatively good. Poor people walk, richer people use the roads. Rich people's kids have swimming lessons, poor people's kids drown in unfenced village ponds. Rich people wear seatbelts (sometimes) poor people travel in pickup beds or speeding songtaews or gas-powered vans, and get hurled out or incinerated when there is a crash.

 

Once you understand this, you will understand Thailand and realise why it will never have the infrastructure of Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan, let alone the West.

[swissbie]

There is not only tap water or bottled water. I'm using filtered water from our well now, but over many years in different locations we used the 20-litre canisters with reprocessed water for about 10 Baht, available nearly everywhere in Thailand. Like tap water quality and taste is different from place to place, but most Thais i know, especially the ones with large families, can't affort bottled water.

[elnet1]

19 hours ago, Coconut007 said:

How else will the elite get those sweet 60% profit margins?

 

Nobody invented a way to sell air, yet

Uhh..... An air separation plant separates atmospheric air into its primary components, typically nitrogen and oxygen, and sometimes also argon and other rare inert gases. The most common method for air separation is fractional distillation.    This is what Air Liquide, Praxair, Air Products and other companies do, basically they are selling "air".

[jerry921]

The water leaving any given filtration plant in Thailand is going to compare well with water leaving any given filtration plant in the US - and might be better than quite a few. The problem is what happens on the way to your tap.

 

For a long time clay pipes in short segments were joined together to make a water main. Then the clay pipes, which chip and crack relatively easily, got replaced with concrete pipes, still in segments, and still subject to cracking and chipping at the joints. Now when new pipe is laid it's PVC pipe, sealed with glue. Sometimes PVC sheathes have been pushed through existing cement or copper mains to line them. If your water comes from the treatment plant exclusively in PVC piping, and doesn't get contaminated in your building, it's going to be safe to drink.

 

The problem with the old distribution systems was that sewer pipes were generally laid in the same trench dug for the water mains, with the two pipes right next to each other. One ditch being easier to dig than two. It has been done this way all over the world. The sewer pipes were made from the same stuff as the water mains, and were also subject to cracking and leaking. Water mains are normally kept under pressure, so if there's a leak, it's good water leaking out. But if water pressure isn't maintained all the time, the leak can work in the other direction and sewage leaking from the nearby sewer pipe can get into the water main. In that case your water becomes unsafe to drink.

 

Sometimes the worst contamination happens between the street main and your building. One building can be fine and the building next to it is polluting it's own water with it's own sewer output.

 

If you don't like to pay for bottled water or deal with the hassle of hauling it home, by all means get your water tested for bad stuff and see if it's safe to drink - but understand that even if it tests safe one time it may not always be safe, particularly after the pressure has been below-spec.

 

 

[joeyg]

I've seen tiny snail shells rocks and other debris caught in the faucet screen both in Samut Prakan and Naklua.  We've got a well maintained Filter machine at our condo with well kept maintenance log attached to it.  water smells and taste good.

 

If you've ever looked in any of these holding tanks commercial or residential you'd never drink unfiltered water again.

[Grumpy Duck]

20 hours ago, Coconut007 said:

How else will the elite get those sweet 60% profit margins?

 

Nobody invented a way to sell air, yet

Actually a number of years back there was a trend to make oxygen bars. People could wear a mask and inhale clean flavored air

[csabo]

"Wouldn't it make sense" HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHASTOP STOP IT OHHH OHHH MY RIBS HAHAHA!!!

[Grumpy Duck]

When I first got here I researched tap water potability. I read that tap water was clean from the original location but some older areas water mains were in bad shape. Many steel pipes were sealed with lead at joints. Many pipes were deteriorating. 

 

The place I live does not provide direct access to city water instead water is stored under ground in a big concrete cistern and pumped into the building. This stored water is not treated at all. Once I was out of bottled water and used the tap water for a cup of noodles. I was sick for 4 days. I only drink bottled water since (except Nestles')

[EnlightenedAtheist]

2 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

The basic difference between Thailand and the West is that nothing gets done unless there is a way to make money out of it. No one will accept raising taxes for this. The poor people drink the water from the tap. The rich people, who pay the taxes, drink bottled or filtered water and can afford to pay for it. The people who bottle the water make money out of it.

 

Doing stuff for the common good does not compute here. That's why the streets have wires hanging all over them, kids get electrocuted on hanging wires, and the pavements are obstructed and all broken up while the roads are comparatively good. Poor people walk, richer people use the roads. Rich people's kids have swimming lessons, poor people's kids drown in unfenced village ponds. Rich people wear seatbelts (sometimes) poor people travel in pickup beds or speeding songtaews or gas-powered vans, and get hurled out or incinerated when there is a crash.

 

Once you understand this, you will understand Thailand and realise why it will never have the infrastructure of Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan, let alone the West.

It is true that in some western countries many people understood (maybe one needs wars to have that happen) that common good is better than personal good. Still, apparently not all is good in the West (and in Thailand I would submit): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180125135540.htm (Do western societies promote narcissism?) I say Thailand too because many of the elite were educated in the West. They would know better, feel Buddha is behind them, and who knows what else. The university profs. living beside me have no issue whatsoever to listening to their TV 12/7; Their TV is outside facing my house and is 8 meters away from my ears (living room). They are very nice people btw, often giving things away and such. I am told he must live outside because there is no more room inside the house. He often exercises on his stationary bike that make a strident noise when being used. He exercises when the air level clearly indicate that this would be counterproductive. he also drinks whisky. He is okay with the political situation at the moment.  If there is no coherence and empathy coming from the intellectual elite, you get Thailand. The elite and the monks have put in the head of the others that they deserve it ... somehow. Incidentally, I can vouch for the western narcissism hypothesis/research. There is not a day when I don't meet a westerner who will talk to no end about himself, his problems, his life and --of course-- never asks any question to the one listening. Even when mentioned to them, they cannot change their ways. There isn't any dialogue or empathy when 2 narcissists meet. They listen and then use what they listen to relate to their life. But, I digress. In the west, there is capitalism/neo-liberalism which force (the baby boomers, especially, since they never had to endure hardships) to be more individualistic. The well-offs in Thailand seem to act in the same manner. As to the water, ... as other have mentioned, the ones who can spare it, buy filtered water or bottled water. Bottled water has BPA which is a hormone disruptor. Are some of the PVC pipes used to bring the water hormone disruptors? Sadly, the entitled classes can filter their water, their air, as you said. Many can eat the safest food, although many are too lazy to cook at home, putting them at risk to eat whatever the restaurants supply them. Some of them connect the dots, but some don't. Some of them bring their kids to swimming competitions when the air is polluted. To be sure, no matter how they slice it, the elite is not that smart. They have the power and can HIRE people who are smart to write laws that will protect them and can buy products that will protect them from an environment they have created. Is Elysium far?

 

Sorry! (For the one-liner lovers! LOL)

Edited February 12, 2018 by EnlightenedAtheist

[Colabamumbai]

Our water bill in Ban Bung Chonburi says; "Customers are delighted with water quality and excellent services." Yes we are undrinkable with green slime.

[impulse]

7 hours ago, inThailand said:

Seriously...knowing the mentality about maintenance here, how can anyone think the tap water is safe to drink? 

 

Following that line of reasoning, why would you trust the bottled water?

 

[joeyg]

34 minutes ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Actually a number of years back there was a trend to make oxygen bars. People could wear a mask and inhale clean flavored air

There have been fresh air dispensers on the street in Japan and other countries in Asia for many years! http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/russian-hacker-arrested-in-bangkok

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=oxygen+dispensers+on+the+street+in+Japan&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjknrztzp_ZAhULN48KHZnUCSoQsAQIQQ&biw=1152&bih=642

 

I think Delhi could use some.  nah to many people good way to get rid of them.

 

[grollies]

1 hour ago, EnlightenedAtheist said:

Bottled water has BPA which is a hormone disruptor. Are some of the PVC pipes used to bring the water hormone disruptors?

Yes, blue PVC and HDPE pipe contains BPA, it is used as a colour fixative. It is a question of internal surface area versus contact time when concerned with the effects of BPA contamination of drinking water. The smaller diameter the pipe the greater contact surface area v volume and greater the leeching effect.

 

Any study showing harmful levels of BPA in HDPE watermains would be 'buried' as the remediation costs would be prohibative.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by grollies

[Thian]

22 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Tap water might be perfectly safe to drink,on leaving

the Water Works,its just that it can get polluted on the

way to the tap in your house,Bangkok is no different 

from London,New York,or Paris,where people also drink

a lot of bottled water.

regards worgeordie

I guess that in london they use a copper waterpipe which doesn't allow all kind of things to grow in there.

 

But i drink thai tapwater in BKK all days, it goes from the watertank to the pump to the waterfilter to the fridge into my YETI rambler, i drink about 5-6 of them a day.

[Thian]

21 hours ago, Coconut007 said:

How else will the elite get those sweet 60% profit margins?

 

Nobody invented a way to sell air, yet

You're free to start your own drinking water company...

 

Also nobody forces you to drink from a bottle.

 

And i've seen very expensive cans filled with swiss clean air.....chinese love them.

[grollies]

5 minutes ago, Thian said:

I guess that in london they use a copper waterpipe which doesn't allow all kind of things to grow in there.

The reason concrete-lined pipes are used for drinking water is to allow algae to grow in the mains in order to reduce friction losses when pumping water. In the UK phosphate is added to drinking water to encourage this growth inside lead pipe to prevent lead leeching into house supply.

[Acemaker]

20 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

 

I have to wonder about the maintenance and changing of the machine's filters.

 

But I guess you're still breathing.

 

Anyone  ever heard of "liver worts"?

Yes, they are delicous in a Thai Green Curry.

[Lacessit]

On 2/11/2018 at 3:15 PM, VocalNeal said:

I agree with BWA. better to put it in a large open top jar to let the chlorine gas off otherwise OK. Most or at least a lot of people get their water from a vending machine which is fed from BWA water main.

Additionally BKK water is quite hard and therefore has a high pH which is also better.

A high pH reduces the disinfection efficiency of chlorination.

The easiest process to get rid of bacteria, viruses, oocysts, chlorine, chloramines and off-tastes in water is to simply boil it.

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, grollies said:

The reason concrete-lined pipes are used for drinking water is to allow algae to grow in the mains in order to reduce friction losses when pumping water. In the UK phosphate is added to drinking water to encourage this growth inside lead pipe to prevent lead leeching into house supply.

You mean the UK government is still poisoning its citizens?

Algae biomass in a pipe would decrease flow rates, not increase them. That's why cooling towers and aircon filters have to be cleaned regularly. It's true phosphate addition would encourage algal growth:  however, it's far more likely the phosphate is added to passivate the lead pipe, preventing lead ions from contaminating the water supply. Lead phosphate has a solubility product of 1X10-57 M5. In non-technical terms, it is highly insoluble.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Lacessit

[grollies]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

however, it's far more likely the phosphate is added to passivate the lead pipe, preventing lead ions from contaminating the water supply.

I thought that's what I said?

[Lacessit]

23 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

 

I have to wonder about the maintenance and changing of the machine's filters.

 

But I guess you're still breathing.

 

Anyone  ever heard of "liver worts"?

I've heard of liver flukes, which can be quite nasty. I understand liverwurst is something eaten by Germans.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, grollies said:

I thought that's what I said?

Not what I read.

[grollies]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

Not what I read.

In the UK phosphate is added to drinking water to encourage this growth inside lead pipe to prevent lead leeching into house supply.

 

?

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, grollies said:

In the UK phosphate is added to drinking water to encourage this growth inside lead pipe to prevent lead leeching into house supply.

 

?

You segued from the algae flow claim to the "growth" inside lead pipe. IMHO most logical people would infer the term "growth" was being applied to a living organism, i.e. algae. The term passivation is universally applied to any corrosion inhibition process where the metal surface is protected by an insoluble layer, called passive.

Sorry if that sounds pedantic; however, your post is at best ambiguous.

[weegee]

18 minutes ago, grollies said:

In the UK phosphate is added to drinking water to encourage this growth inside lead pipe to prevent lead leeching into house supply.

 

?

Dont worry about it Grollies....we know what you mean.

These young blokes dont realize it was us old fellas that built the Universities for them to become experts on everything...except experience !!!

[Lacessit]

36 minutes ago, weegee said:

Dont worry about it Grollies....we know what you mean.

These young blokes dont realize it was us old fellas that built the Universities for them to become experts on everything...except experience !!!

I am experienced enough not to make assumptions about other posters.

[grollies]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

You segued from the algae flow claim to the "growth" inside lead pipe. IMHO most logical people would infer the term "growth" was being applied to a living organism, i.e. algae. The term passivation is universally applied to any corrosion inhibition process where the metal surface is protected by an insoluble layer, called passive.

Sorry if that sounds pedantic; however, your post is at best ambiguous.

So by adding phosphate to drinking water doesn't encourage algael growth in lead pipe?

[jak2002003]

6 minutes ago, grollies said:

So by adding phosphate to drinking water doesn't encourage algael growth in lead pipe?

Do you mean algal growth? 

 

If you do, then I am pretty sure algae will never grow in lead pipes, or any other kind of pipes for that matter, because it needs sunlight to grow.  Down in the underground pipes its pitch black... so no algae or plants can grow.  

 

 

[watcharacters]

7 hours ago, EnlightenedAtheist said:

It is true that in some western countries many people understood (maybe one needs wars to have that happen) that common good is better than personal good. Still, apparently not all is good in the West (and in Thailand I would submit): https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180125135540.htm (Do western societies promote narcissism?) I say Thailand too because many of the elite were educated in the West. They would know better, feel Buddha is behind them, and who knows what else. The university profs. living beside me have no issue whatsoever to listening to their TV 12/7; Their TV is outside facing my house and is 8 meters away from my ears (living room). They are very nice people btw, often giving things away and such. I am told he must live outside because there is no more room inside the house. He often exercises on his stationary bike that make a strident noise when being used. He exercises when the air level clearly indicate that this would be counterproductive. he also drinks whisky. He is okay with the political situation at the moment.  If there is no coherence and empathy coming from the intellectual elite, you get Thailand. The elite and the monks have put in the head of the others that they deserve it ... somehow. Incidentally, I can vouch for the western narcissism hypothesis/research. There is not a day when I don't meet a westerner who will talk to no end about himself, his problems, his life and --of course-- never asks any question to the one listening. Even when mentioned to them, they cannot change their ways. There isn't any dialogue or empathy when 2 narcissists meet. They listen and then use what they listen to relate to their life. But, I digress. In the west, there is capitalism/neo-liberalism which force (the baby boomers, especially, since they never had to endure hardships) to be more individualistic. The well-offs in Thailand seem to act in the same manner. As to the water, ... as other have mentioned, the ones who can spare it, buy filtered water or bottled water. Bottled water has BPA which is a hormone disruptor. Are some of the PVC pipes used to bring the water hormone disruptors? Sadly, the entitled classes can filter their water, their air, as you said. Many can eat the safest food, although many are too lazy to cook at home, putting them at risk to eat whatever the restaurants supply them. Some of them connect the dots, but some don't. Some of them bring their kids to swimming competitions when the air is polluted. To be sure, no matter how they slice it, the elite is not that smart. They have the power and can HIRE people who are smart to write laws that will protect them and can buy products that will protect them from an environment they have created. Is Elysium far?

 

Sorry! (For the one-liner lovers! LOL)

 

 

 

In spite of your failure to understand the concept of paragraphs,

 

You are light years from being enlightened.

 

I suggest you go to bed  repeating your favorite mantra.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[watcharacters]

20 hours ago, KMartinHandyman said:

No but I’ve eaten liver wurst

 

 

Gosh,   I can hardly stop laughing at your humor.

 

You are really funny..